We split last night, losing an under to some early home runs in Baltimore but winning with a tidy 4–1 Tampa Bay home victory.
The Rays are a fun team to bet but you’ve got to keep up with what’s going on with their pitching staff. There’s an angle I’m keen enough about tonight to make it a late addition here just after noon on the east coast.
Free Pick
Tampa used four of its best pitchers in last night’s win and based on how Kevin Cash has used each one to this point, probably burned them all for tonight too.
Ryne Stanek and Austin Pruitt are most definitely unavailable. Jose Alvarado and Chaz Roe both threw over 20 pitches and have yet to appear the next day whenever that has happened this season.
Jonny Venters and Sergio Romo both threw, but not enough to rule them out tonight; then again, it isn’t 2011.
Ryan Yarbrough threw 88 pitches two days ago so he won’t go; neither will Nathan Eovaldi, who threw over 100 on June 10.
Wilmer Font, who has thrown well in just more than a few games with the Rays after bouncing from Los Angeles to Oakland to Tampa Bay just this season, will start but won’t go more than a few innings at best.
We’ll also most definitely see Matt Andriese, who is well-rested but hasn’t extended beyond the 30–40 pitch range in a while. Alex Colome is available, as is nearly always the case when the Rays have a lead and three more outs to get (though he is fresh tonight).
That pretty much leaves Diego Castillo, a 24-year-old fresh off the farm this month, and Vidal Nuno, a 30-year-old who has made just five appearances all season. Initially, I wanted to play the over because Tampa had seemingly run out of arms and its position players are starting to come into their own and can most certainly hit JA Happ.
But both Castillo and Nuno seem to fit right in with the rest of Tampa’s staff and have killed it so far in their most recent opportunities. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room tonight if more than one guy doesn’t have it but I think I’ll pass on the over and instead just play the Rays as an underdog again — some on the money and some on the run.
Play: Tampa Bay +1.5 (-130)
al east • ja happ • Tampa Bay Rays • toronto blue jays